“It’s all still in my head, where it happened, who held me down, the balcony above me. And how it was all masked by a party with gifts and music.” Mariam, born in Djibouti, recounts her traumatic experience when she was 5 years old. As a young woman she joined a movement to end female genital mutilation in her country and vowed never to do this to her own daughter. However, in Mariam’s absence, her traditionalist mother arranged to have the baby cut and some months later the child died from an infection. The EU is adamant to end this inhumane act of female genital mutilation and supports UNICEF in its educational programmes with UNFPA on women's and children's rights and health risks.